HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Saint Anselm College baseball team split Saturday's doubleheader with Post University from Truist Point in High Point, N.C. The Hawks opened the day with a 15-7 win before falling by a 12-2 score to close the twinbill.

The Hawks are now 2-6 on the season while the Eagles move to 3-8. The squads conclude their four-game set on Sunday, Mar. 6 from Truist Point with the opening pitch scheduled for 11 a.m.

GAME ONE: SAINT ANSELM 15, POST 7

The Eagles jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning after a pair of walks got the first two batters of the game on base and a single with an error by Jimmy Brennan brought both runners home. However, freshman Adam Betty (Lowell, Mass.) got a fly out and a pair of strikeouts to close the top of the first.

The Hawks responded with two walks and error to load the bases. Senior Kyle Maurice (Exeter, N.H.) would capitalize on the opportunity and deposit his first home run of the season and the Hawks first grand slam of 2022, giving Saint Anselm a 4-2 lead through the first inning of play.

Ryan Balbino launched a big fly for the Eagles in the top of the second which pushed the score to 4-3 and after a walk and a single, Betty would get a lineout and a flyout to close the inning.

Freshman Ryan Scialabba (Cheshire, Conn.) walked to lead off the bottom of the second and was quickly driven home by senior Matt Collins (Beverly, Mass.) with a triple. However, Collins would be stranded at third as Post got out of the early trouble with limited damage.

The Hawks extended their lead to 7-3 in the bottom of the third when sophomore Nolan Elmore (Brentwood, N.H.) and senior Mike Pierro (North Andover, Mass.) hit back-to-back solo home runs, marking the second and third homers of the contest for the Hawks.

Saint Anselm continued its hot hitting as junior Mike Borrelli (Salisbury, Mass.) led off the bottom of the fifth with home run before a double and two walks loaded the bases later in the inning. Junior Brady Doran (Greenville, S.C.) walked in a run before sophomore Zack Clough (Newbury, Mass.) cleared the bases with a double, giving Saint Anselm a 12-3 lead through five innings.

The Eagles crossed the plate twice in their half of the sixth inning when Balbino doubled home Brycin Hernandez, who was hit by a pitch to open the inning. Evan Cornwell registered an RBI groundout, pushing the score to 12-5.

Borrelli led off the bottom of the sixth and was brought in on a Maurice single. Pierro doubled to push the runners to second and third before Scialabba doubled both runners home which extended the Hawks lead to 15-5.

Post added two runs in the top of the seventh but a strikeout by junior Joe Sgobbo (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) closed the contest with the Hawks scoring a 15-7 win.

Betty recorded his first collegiate victory, going 5.1 innings pitched and allowing seven hits and five runs. Freshman Zachary Abbott (Gloucester, Mass.) and Sgobbo combined for 1.2 inning pitched allowing two runs on three hits.

GAME TWO: POST 12, SAINT ANSELM 2

After the Hawks went three up and three down in the top of the first, Post crossed the plate three times and never looked back as Michael Pavelchak, Hunter Keller, and Hernandez reached on a pair of walks and a single. Pavelchak scored on a passed ball before Cornwell posted an RBI groundout and Robert Olah singled home Hernandez to take a 3-0 lead through the first inning.

Borelli led off the second inning with a walk and a pair of singles by Maurice and Elmore would score Borrelli. After a pair of strikeouts, Collins would single home Maurice cutting the Hawks deficit to 3-2.

The Eagles tacked on four runs in the bottom half of the inning as Nate Miller drove in two runs with a bases loaded double and Cornwell singled to score Hernandez. The fourth run came across when Olah
reached on a fielder's choice, which made the contest a 7-2 game for Post.

Post added three runs in the bottom of the third with a three-run home run by Hernandez and added its final two runs in the bottom of the sixth on a double by Keller, scoring Balibino and Pavelchak.

Junior John Donovan (Lowell, Mass.) suffered the loss for Saint Anselm after allowing seven runs on six hits in two innings of work. Junior Harry MacKinlay (Norwell, Mass.) and senior Shawn Morrow
(Melrose, Mass.) combined for four innings of relief, allowing seven hits five runs.